Big Boss is watching Denver workers

May 25, 2000

Goofing off on the job by Denver city employees has led to drastic measures by local officials. More than 2,000 Public Department vehicles will eventually be fitted with global positioning systems (GPS) so that the movements of the city's 14,000 employees can be monitored at all times by satellite.

The $1.5 million project is a response to an undercover television report that filmed Denver workers dozing on the job, ignoring break-time limits, and playing cards. New GPS technology now has the capability of keeping track of whether a vehicle is occupied, in addition to recording the purpose of a trip, the route taken, the distance traveled, and the time the journey was initiated.